The topic of Hipster Racism (a phrase originally coined by Carmen Van Kerckhove)Â has been visited in the past by me on LA Eastside, Cruel Secretary over at Racialicious, and by Angry Asian Man over at Angry Asian Man.
Why do people think this kind of thing is clever or smart? There is no difference between this and a thirteen year old boy telling fart jokes.
Maybe we can blame this on Canada since Alanis Morrisette messed up the definition of irony.
Just because something is trying to be ironic it doesn’t mean it’s not racist.
by Browne Molyneux H/T to Macon Dee over at Racialicious who watches TV and movies, so I don’t have to.
Browne of The Bus Bench (and LA Eastside contributor) took to the streets to interject some political theatre into the auction of some pricey downtown lofts. With a sign that reads “Will Work For Loft” and “Brother, Can Ya $pare A Loft?” handouts with information on the homeless, it’s the kind of necessary action I wish would be much more common nowadays. Channel 7 news covered the auction because they thought the use of the internet for auctions was interesting. Really.
Al put up this little post before the New Year on Max Romeau a person who is a real estate agent with a twist. He matches people without homes to foreclosed homes. I thought it was such an awesome thing, so I decided to do some investigation.
1. Start with the best Christmas song ever, El Burrito de Belen – a festive cumbia tune sung by a chorus of kids backed by nalga-shaking rhythmic accompaniment.
2. Give a group of Peruvians in the Andes access to a video camera and editing software.
3. Dress one of the Peruvians in a donkey suit and futbol gear.
4. Add one fed-up burrito.
5. Voila! You got the above video, bizarre and silly, my kinda Christmas entertainment.
(Horse riders on the San Gabriel River. Photo by permission of myself.) If you want a soundtrack, click play on the video below.
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There’s nothing like a tragedy to remind us that we are all on borrowed time, and hopefully we’ll try to make the most of the remaining stretch. Here’s a few blogs and posts I’ve been reading that put things into context.
Moon over at French Benefits writes about missing the 111 Metrolink train yesterday, that same one that hit a freight train and is now a fatal wreck. She worries if some of the fellow passengers she’s come to recognize are okay.
Miguel of The Los Angeles Eastside Scene sent out an email announcing that “life has gotten in the way of my blogging” thus he will no longer be hosting the monthly Latino blogger meetups. I know his site recently slowed down but I hope he doesn’t stop posting for good.
Alice Bag is putting her autobiography in process online over at her Violence Girl blog, and she’s up to her Stevenson Jr. High days. Retracing your steps to see where you have been in this life must be a good way to estimate what it’s all about.
On a similar note, Evil Chavo (no relation to yours truly!) recounts his experiences about life in City Terrace, casting himself as a “Survivor from the streets of ELA“. It’s sad that surviving your childhood neighborhood is such a common thread when Eastsiders write about their life stories, but that’s just the way it is. Still, I’d like to see more Eastsiders jotting down some notes about life on the Eastside, it definitely helps to fill in the wide gaps in the missing history of our part of town.
According to Javi of lincolnheightsla.com the fairly new carousel in Lincoln Park is set to close on Sept 28 due to low ridership. There’s no mention of it on the official park site but you can trust Javi with this info, he knows what’s going on around LH. From his email:
Due to low ridership the LP carousel will have its final spin on Sept. 28, 2008. So if you haven’t seen or taken a ride then do so before it’s too late. I encourage everyone to visit and take a spin.
That’s kinda sad but it did seem like many people were unaware of the new ride. You really might want to heed that warning and go take a spin. I took some pics less than a year ago over at my site if you want to see a bit more. Or click ahead for a short video clip.
I spent three weeks of August with my family in our town of origin in Los Altos de Jalisco. Not much to say, other that I found it relaxing and what I needed. Seeing relatives is always great, especially some whom I had not met and who my parents last visited in 1981 (After 27 years, they still recognized my parents!)
I’ll share some pictures and anecdotes. Not particularly related to L.A. Eastside, but since the school year is starting soon for many (including myself), let’s turn this into “What did you do in the summer?” show-and-tell. Continue reading →
Rolo submits this video asking the obvious question, what exactly do worms have to do with organ donation? I can’t figure it out. DMV- leading the way in surreal advertising.
